What Good Is the Novavax Vaccine? The vaccine, which was developed by an American biotechnology company in Maryland, had previously been approved in other places such as Canada, Australia, and the European Union. (Slate, 7/22/22)

Vaccine lotteries for children: Considering the ethics of financial incentives for children. Children were the last group to be offered the vaccine. This was due to both the prioritisation of older people and differences in regulatory approval for treatments for children. When eventually offered the vaccine, children’s uptake was lower than in many other groups. This inertia posed a problem for society because children were viewed as potential vectors of disease. (Journal of Medical Ethics, 7/20/22)

See also: Few Parents Intend to Have Very Young Children Vaccinated Against Covid (New York Times, 7/26/22)

Operation Nasal Vaccine—Lightning speed to counter COVID-19. As the virus continues its accelerated ability to evade our immune response and increase its transmissibility, we urgently need to achieve population-wide respiratory mucosal immunity. The objective of breaking the chain of transmission at the individual and population level will put us in a far better position to achieve containment of the virus, no less reducing the toll of sickness and long COVID-19. (Science, 7/21/22)

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White House to launch effort to develop next generation of Covid vaccines. The Biden administration is preparing a sweeping initiative to develop a next generation of Covid-19 immunizations that would thwart future coronavirus variants and dramatically reduce rates of coronavirus infection or transmission, building on current shots whose impact has been mainly to prevent serious illness and death, the White House told STAT. (STAT, 7/25/22)

Reformulated COVID vaccine boosters may be available earlier than expected. The Biden administration may scrap plans to let more younger adults get second COVID-19 boosters this summer. Instead, officials are trying to speed up availability of the next generation of boosters in the fall, NPR has learned. The new strategy is aimed at trying to balance protecting people this summer with keeping people safe next winter, when the country will probably get hit by yet another surge. (NPR, 7/26/22)

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Trusted community messengers, data key in North Carolina’s journey to vaccine equity. In contrast to other states, North Carolina has almost eliminated the gap between Black and white vaccination rates across all age groups. The state’s efforts have also led vaccination rates to be higher for Hispanic populations than non-Hispanic populations. People around the country are taking notice, even the White House. (North Carolina Health News, 8/4/22)

See also: New methods tripled COVID-19 testing in Latinx communities (University of Oregon, 8/22)

Right-wing media are using Biden's rebound COVID-19 case to peddle anti-vaccine lies. While newer virus strains like omicron and the BA.5 subvariant are more resistant to vaccines, research shows that those who are vaccinated — especially those who have received booster shots — are still significantly less likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19 than those who are not. Still, some in right-wing media used Biden’s diagnosis to peddle lies about the efficacy of vaccines, masks, and other COVID-19 mitigation guidelines. (Media Matters, 8/4/22)

Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH). CDC announces the availability of fiscal year 2023 funds to implement CDC-RFA-DP23-2314: Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH). This 5-year program is to improve health, prevent chronic diseases, and reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic populations with the highest risk, or burden, of chronic disease, specifically for African Americans/Blacks, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. (Grants.gov, 8/3/22)

Long COVID Care Centers for Underserved Communities. Grants will be provided to safety net organizations to partner with large academic health systems to develop or expand multispecialty clinics providing coordinated specialty care for people living with Long COVID, also referred to as Post-Acute COVID Syndrome (PASC). These clinics would provide ongoing support to primary care providers in the network through virtual group peer-to-peer telementoring and individualized virtual or e-consult services. (Grants.gov, 8/2/22)

COVID-19 Health Equity Resource Library. Discover evidence-based practices and resources related to reducing COVID-19 health disparities in communities across the nation. (National Network of Public Health Institutes, 8/22)

Risks And Benefits To Community Health Worker Certification. This question of whether CHWs should be certified or licensed comes up frequently and as payment models provide more resources to support CHWs, the issue is becoming an important policy debate. In this article, we describe the benefits and risks of CHW licensure and certification. (Health Affairs, 7/7/22)

Equitable and Resilient Infrastructure Investments. There have been decades of discriminatory policies, practices, and embedded bias within infrastructure planning processes. Among the source of these policies and practices are the agencies that promote resilience and provide hazard mitigation and recovery services, and the funding mechanisms they employ. These practices have resulted in low-income communities, often predominantly Indigenous people and communities of color, bearing a disproportionate share of the social, economic, health, and environmental burdens caused by extreme weather and other natural disasters. (National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, 7/22)

Schools race to improve indoor air quality as coronavirus cases climb. The federal government gave schools billions for coronavirus mitigation over the past two years. Only recently, though, are most using those dollars for what has turned out to be a critical measure: keeping indoor air clean. (Washington Post, 7/19/22)

Diverse clinical trials: Why aren’t we there yet? Obstacles range from individuals not having physical access to clinical trial sites, to general distrust of the medical institutions running the research, to a lack of proper community outreach. How can researchers overcome these challenges and champion the importance of increasing diversity in clinical trials to the medical community at large? (STAT, 6/13/22)

“God, No, Not Another Case.” COVID-Related Stillbirths Didn’t Have to Happen. Unvaccinated women who contracted COVID-19 during pregnancy were at a higher risk of stillbirths. They also were more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit, give birth prematurely or die. Yet their greatest protection — the COVID-19 vaccine — sat largely untouched, buried under doubt, polluted by disinformation. (ProPublica, 8/4/22)

Get childhood immunizations back on track after COVID. The effects of the pandemic mean childhood vaccination rates are the lowest for a generation. There is a risk of preventable diseases resurging unless governments treat this as a priority. (Nature, 8/3/22)

U.S. officials declare monkeypox a public health emergency. The Biden administration declared monkeypox a public health emergency on Thursday as cases topped 6,600 nationwide. The declaration could facilitate access to emergency funds, allow health agencies to collect more data about cases and vaccinations, accelerate vaccine distribution and make it easier for doctors to prescribe treatment. (NBC News, 8/4/22)